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Potentially Massive And Global Non-Pyrogenic Production Of Condensed "Black" Carbon Through Biomass Oxidation, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Hongmei Chen, Jianshu Duan, Satish C. B. Myneni, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the increased occurrences of wildfires worldwide, there has been an increase in scientific interest surrounding the chemistry of fire-derived "black" carbon (BC). Traditionally, wildfire research has assumed that condensed aromatic carbon (ConAC) is exclusively produced via combustion, and thus, ConAC is equated to BC. However, the lack of correlations between ConAC in soils or rivers and wildfire history suggests that ConAC may be produced non-pyrogenically. Here, we show quantitative evidence that this occurs during the oxidation of biomass with environmentally ubiquitous hydroxyl radicals. Pine wood boards exposed to iron nails and natural weather conditions for 12 years yielded a …

A Review On Biochar As An Adsorbent For Pb(Ii) Removal From Water, Pushpita Kumkum, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Heavy metal contamination in drinking water is a growing concern due to its severe health effects on humans. Among the many metals, lead (Pb), which is a toxic and harmful element, has the most widespread global distribution. Pb pollution is a major problem of water pollution in developing countries and nations. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures. Adsorption is the most efficient method for metal removal, and activated carbon has been used widely in many applications as an effective adsorbent, but its high production costs have created the necessity for …

Stabilization Of Pfas-Contaminated Soil With Sewage Sludge- And Wood-Based Biochar Sorbents, Erlend Sørmo, Clara Benedikte Mader Lade, Julie Zhang, Alexandros G. Asimakopoulos, Geir Wold Åsli, Michel Hubert, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Hans Peter H. Arp, Gerard Cornelissen

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Sustainable and effective remediation technologies for the treatment of soil contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are greatly needed. This study investigated the effects of waste-based biochars on the leaching of PFAS from a sandy soil with a low total organic carbon content (TOC) of 0.57 ± 0.04% impacted by PFAS from aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) dispersed at a former fire-fighting facility. Six different biochars (pyrolyzed at 700–900°C) were tested, made from clean wood chips (CWC), waste timber (WT), activated waste timber (aWT), two digested sewage sludges (DSS-1 and DSS-2) and de-watered raw sewage sludge (DWSS). Up-flow column …

Microbial Labilization And Diversification Of Pyrogenic Dissolved Organic Matter, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Andrew S. Wozniak, Kyle W. Bostick, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Siddhartha Mitra, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the increased occurrence of wildfires around the world, interest in the chemistry of pyrogenic organic matter (pyOM) and its fate in the environment has increased. Upon leaching from soils by rain events, significant amounts of dissolved pyOM (pyDOM) enter the aquatic environment and interact with microbial communities that are essential for cycling organic matter within the different biogeochemical cycles. To evaluate the biodegradability of pyDOM, aqueous extracts of laboratory-produced biochars were incubated with soil microbes, and the molecular changes to the composition of pyDOM were probed using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (Fourier transform–ion cyclotron resonance–mass spectrometry). Given that solar irradiation …

Ozonized Biochar Filtrate Effects On The Growth Of Pseudomonas Putida And Cyanobacteria Synechococcus Elongatus Pcc 7942, Oumar Sacko, Nancy L. Engle, Timothy J. Tschaplinski, Sandeep Kumar, James Weifu Lee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background

Biochar ozonization was previously shown to dramatically increase its cation exchange capacity, thus improving its nutrient retention capacity. The potential soil application of ozonized biochar warrants the need for a toxicity study that investigates its effects on microorganisms.

Results

In the study presented here, we found that the filtrates collected from ozonized pine 400 biochar and ozonized rogue biochar did not have any inhibitory effects on the soil environmental bacteria Pseudomonas putida, even at high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations of 300 ppm. However, the growth of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 was inhibited by the ozonized biochar filtrates at …

Integrated Processing Of Municipal Solid Waste For Maximizing Waste Reduction, Carbon Recovery And Fuel Production, Kameron J. King

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nationally and internationally, waste generation is increasing and along with it negative environmental impacts. Many people think waste ends at disposal; however, environmental impacts have already begun. Unfortunately, 50% of waste ends up in a landfill which is the third largest source of human related methane emissions and a leading cause of global climate change. This study investigated a novel waste management strategy in hopes of mitigating negative environmental effects caused by conventional waste management practices. The novelty of the study lies in the development of an integrated method of hydrothermal carbonization and an anaerobic digestion (HTC + AD) process …

Improvement Of Biochar Through Ozonization And Biosafety Of Genetically Engineered Cyanobacteria, Oumar Sacko

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Through the innovative technique of biochar post-production surface oxygenation by ozonization, we were able to improve certain properties of biochar. In project one, the incubation of an insoluble phosphate rock material (hydroxyapatite) with the wet ozonized pine 400 biochar and its filtrate resulted in a solubilization of 80 times more phosphate from hydroxyapatite (569.0 mg/L ± 6.4) compared to the pure water-hydroxyapatite control (7.2 mg/L ± 0.3). The ozonized biochar may provide a new possible way to unlock the phosphorus from insoluble phosphate mineral phases. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a key property of biochar when used as a …

2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium: Full Program, Honors College, Old Dominion University

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Full program with schedule and abstracts for the 2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Biolability Of Fresh And Photodegraded Pyrogenic Dissolved Organic Matter From Laboratory-Prepared Chars, K. W. Bostick, A. R. Zimmerman, A. I. Goranov, S. Mitra, P. G. Hatcher, A. S. Wozniak

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Pyrogenic dissolved organic matter (pyDOM) is known to be an important biogeochemical constituent of aquatic ecosystems and the carbon cycle. While recent studies have examined how pyDOM production, composition, and photolability varies with parent pyrogenic solid material type, we lack an understanding of potential microbial mineralization and transformation of pyDOM in the biogeosphere. Thus, leachates of oak, charred at 400 °C and 650 °C, as well as their photodegraded counterparts were incubated with a soil‐extracted microbial consortium over 96 days. During the incubation, significantly more carbon was biomineralized from the lower versus higher temperature char leachate (45% vs. 37% lost, …

Labilization And Diversification Of Pyrogenic Dissolved Organic Matter By Microbes, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Andrew S. Wozniak, Kyle W. Bostick, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Siddhartha Mitra, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the increased occurrence of forest fires around the world, interest in the chemistry of pyrogenic organic matter (pyOM) and its fate in the environment has increased. Upon leaching from soils by rain events, significant amounts of dissolved pyOM (pyDOM) enter the aquatic environment and interact with microbial communities that are essential for cycling organic matter within the different biogeochemical cycles. To evaluate the bio-reactivity of pyDOM, aqueous extracts of laboratory-produced chars were incubated with soil microbes and the molecular changes to the composition of pyDOM were probed using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (Fourier transform – ion cyclotron resonance – …

Investigation Of Anaerobic Digestion Of The Aqueous Phase From Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Kameron J. Adams, Ben Stuart, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In 2017, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that Americans generated over 268 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). The majority (52%) of this waste ends up in landfills, which are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions. Improvements in terms of waste management and energy production could be solved by integrating MSW processing with hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and anaerobic digestion (AD) for converting organic carbon of MSW to fuels. The objectives of this study were to (a) investigate HTC experiments at varying temperatures and residence times (b) evaluate aqueous phase and solids properties, and (c) …

Monarch Science Observer, Volume 5, College Of Sciences, Old Dominion University

College of Sciences Newsletter

August-Summer 2020 issue of Monarch Science Observer, ODU College of Sciences Newsletter.

Lignin: A Likely Precursor Of A Significant Fraction Of Humic Substances Via Oxidative Transformations, Seyyedhadi Khatami

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Lignin is a major component of decaying terrestrial vegetation in soils and has been arguably reported to contribute substantially to the formation of soil carbon humus, and natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). To better understand the process by which this humification occurs, lignin and lignin-derived monomers were subjected to both biotic and abiotic oxidation processes. Two well-known oxidative transformation strategies were employed. The first involved the fungal degradation of brown-rot degraded wood subjected to a white-rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) whose enzymes are particularly effective in lignin degradation via enzymatic oxidation. This enzymatic attack was monitored by ultrahigh resolution …

Evaluation Of Lead (Pb(Ii)) Removal Potential Of Biochar In A Fixed-Bed Continuous Flow Adsorption System, Pushpita Kumkum, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background. Lead (Pb(II)) exposure from drinking water consumption is a serious concern due to its negative health effect on human physiology. A commercially available filter uses the adsorption potential of activated carbon for removing heavy metals like Pb(II). However, it has some constraints since it uses only surface area for the adsorption of these contaminants. Biochar produced via slow pyrolysis of biomass shows the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on its surface that take part in the adsorption process, with higher removal potential compared to activated carbon.

Objectives. The current study examined the adsorption kinetics and mechanisms of Pb(II) removing …

Design Of A Biochar-Based Water Filter For Metal Removal, Pushpita Kumkum, Sandeep Kumar

College of Engineering & Technology (Batten) Posters

Heavy metal contamination is a serious concern that needs to be addressed in order to prevent the severe health effect caused from its exposure through drinking water. Activated carbon is the adsorbent of existing water filters available in the market but it has some limitations in removing metal contaminants such as lead. Literatures report, biochar shows higher adsorption potential in removing lead from drinking water than that of activated carbon due to the presence of oxygen containing functional group. Biochar has lower energy demand, lower global warming potential impact, and retrieve more cost efficiently than activated carbon for metal removal. …

Illuminator, Volume 1, Issue 7, Batten College Of Engineering And Technology, Old Dominion University

College of Engineering & Technology Newsletter

April 2018 issue of Illuminator, a monthly publication of ODU's Batten College of Engineering and Technology.

Production And Composition Of Pyrogenic Dissolved Organic Matter From A Logical Series Of Laboratory-Generated Chars, Kyle W. Bostick, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Andrew S. Wozniak, Siddhartha Mitra, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Though pyrogenic carbon (pyC) has been assumed to be predominantly stable, degradation and transfers of pyC between various pools have been found to influence its cycling and longevity in the environment. Dissolution via leaching may be the main control on loss processes such as microbial or abiotic oxidation, mineral sorption, or export to aquatic systems. Yet, little is known about the controls on pyrogenic dissolved organic matter (pyDOM) generation or composition. Here, the yield and composition of pyDOM generated through batch leaching of a thermal series of oak and grass biochars, as well as several non-pyrogenic reference materials, was compared …

Surface Oxygenation Of Biochar Through Ozonization For Dramatically Enhancing Cation Exchange Capacity, Matthew D. Huff, Sarah Marshall, Haitham A. Saeed, James Weifu Lee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background

Biochar cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a key property that is central to biochar environmental applications including the retention of soil nutrients in soil amendment and removal of certain pollutants in water-filtration applications.

Results

This study reports an innovative biochar-ozonization process that dramatically increases the CEC value of biochars by a factor of 2. The ozonized biochars also show great improvement on adsorption of methylene blue by as much as a factor of about 5. In this study, biochar samples treated with and without ozone were analyzed by means of pH and CEC assays, water field capacity measurement, elemental …

Development And Evaluation Of Post-Production Oxygenation Techniques For The Augmentation Of Biochar, Matthew David Huff

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Biochar is the carbon rich solid by-product of biomass pyrolysis. Interest in biochar can be broken down to several main categories: use as a carbon sequestration agent, use as a medium for the removal via adsorption of unwanted materials in wastewater, and as a soil amendment for the increase of cation exchange capacity (CEC). In order to generate a biochar which is stable enough for carbon sequestration, higher temperature pyrolysis must be used in order to ensure a lower O:C ratio in order to increase the half-life of biochar in soil. This dissertation addresses the evaluation of biochars made from …

Value Added Products From Lignin And Biomass Derivatives, Chen Li

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Pyrolysis is one of the traditional lignin and biomass utilization methods. The liquid products bio-oil and solid products bio-char are the main value-added products from lignin pyrolysis. Due to the narrow application and low quality, using the pyrolysis method to produce bio-oil and bio-char cannot bring sufficient economic benefits. In this dissertation, two methods were investigated to improve the quality of lignin bio-products.

Instead of direct pyrolysis, chemical activation (pyrolysis) was introduced in this dissertation. Compared to bio-char, the lignin chemical activation product lignin-activated-carbon has better economic value. With the best activation conditions, the lignin-activated-carbon produced a surface area of …

Possible Sources And Impacts Of Biochar Water Extractable Organic Compounds On Aquatic Microorganisms, Cameron Russell Smith

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Smokeless biomass pyrolysis with application of biochar as a soil amendment could be a significant approach for carbon sequestration to possibly control climate change for energy and environmental sustainability. If biochar were to be utilized as a soil amendment and a carbon sequestration agent at Gt C scales, the release of potentially toxic compounds into soils and associated hydrological systems, through soil rainwater runoff and leaching, might have negative consequences, in both agro-ecosystems and aquatic environmental systems. Therefore, the main focus of this dissertation was to study the sources and chemical composition of biochar water extractable (soluble) organic compounds and …

Characterization Of Biochars Produced From Peanut Hulls And Pine Wood With Different Pyrolysis Conditions, James W. Lee, Bob Hawkins, Michelle K. Kidder, Barbara R. Evans, A. C. Buchanan, Danny Day

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background

Application of modern biomass pyrolysis methods for production of biofuels and biochar is potentially a significant approach to enable global carbon capture and sequestration. To realize this potential, it is essential to develop methods that produce biochar with the characteristics needed for effective soil amendment.

Methods

Biochar materials were produced from peanut hulls and pine wood with different pyrolysis conditions, then characterized by cation exchange (CEC) capacity assays, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm measurements, micro/nanostructural imaging, infrared spectra and elemental analyses.

Results

Under a standard assay condition of pH 8.5, the CEC values of the peanut hull-derived biochar materials, ranging from …

Hydrothermal Catalytic Liquefaction And Deoxygenation Of Biomass For Renewable Fuel Production, Sergiy Popov

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, sub- and supercritical water technologies received an increasing attention because of the numerous advantages they offer for biomass converting into biofuels. Water at elevated temperatures and pressures provides an ideal medium for chemical transformations. It serves as a reactant, reaction medium, and catalyst that helps biomass compounds undergo hydrolysis, depolymerization, dehydration, decarboxylation, and condensation/repolymerization reactions. Biomass is the fourth largest source of energy in the world after coal, oil, and natural gas that has the potential to provide the large scale substitution of hydrocarbon-based liquid transportation fuels and minimize the environmental issues. Biomass typically contains 40-60% oxygen. …

Proton-Electrostatic Localization: Explaining The Bioenergetic Conundrum In Alkalophilic Bacteria, James Weifu Lee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The decades-longstanding energetic conundrum of alkalophilic bacteria as to how they are able to synthesize ATP has now, for the first time, been clearly solved using the proton-electrostatics localization hypothesis. This is a major breakthrough advance in understanding proton-coupling bioenergetics over the Nobel-prize work of Peter Mitchell’s chemiosmotic theory. The widespread textbook Mitchellian proton motive force (pmf) equation has now been significantly revised. Use of the newly derived equation results in an overall pmf value (215~233 mV) that is more than 4 times larger than that (44.3 mV) calculated from the Mitchellian equation for the alkalophilic bacteria growing at pH …